Johnny Depp may have been dealt a severe blow when the judge ruled against him in his recent libel case against a British tabloid for running a headline calling him a wife beater, but the war between the former Pirates of the Caribbean star and his ex-spouse Amber Heard is far from over, as they’re set to head back into the courtroom in the not too distant future after suing each other for defamation.
At this stage, Depp really can’t afford to lose the case. After an incredible revelation where he admitted that he’d lost $750 million due to financial mismanagement, as well as the extensive costs incurred during his libel trial, another hefty financial hit would come as a big blow to the actor, despite being paid at least $10 million for one day of filming on Fantastic Beasts 3.
However, should the next trial go in his favor, then Warner Bros. could find themselves in an even stickier situation when it comes to Heard’s involvement in the Aquaman franchise. The actress has absolutely no intention of walking away, but we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Jared Leto’s Joker would be getting a new look in Zack Snyder’s Justice League before it was officially confirmed, and that Ben Affleck would return as Batman in The Flash – that the studio have a contingency plan in mind should things go poorly for her in the future.
According to our intel – and beware that spoilers will follow from here on out – the current draft of the script for Aquaman 2 includes a scene where Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s returning Black Manta gets into an altercation with Heard’s Mera and she ends up seriously injured. Should the 34 year-old end up losing the defamation case, then that presents an easy out for the studio to sideline her for the rest of the movie or even kill her off and remove her from the Aquaman series entirely. However, if things continue to go alright for the actress in her personal life, then they could simply have Mera recover from her wounds and stick around, likely in an increased role, too.
